Tennyson Nelson
Professor Bhuiyan
RWS 100 Section 73
23 October 2014
Corruption the Language of Politicians Though written more than a half-century apart, “Politicians and the English Language” by George Orwell and “Why do politicians lie? Because they have to” by Melanie Phillips are essays that share similar viewpoints. Orwell claims politicians use the tools of corrupt language to get what they want and to manipulate the populace. Phillips concludes the same in her work. Text examples and discussions will be used to illustrate Orwell’s claim from his 1946 essay and also to relate the 2003 essay of Phillips. Orwell’s view of how language is used to manipulate people will first be examined using specific examples and writing passages from …show more content…
Many metaphors used by politicians are used without an actual knowledge of the metaphor, and people just put their own meaning on it. This just shows how corrupt politicians are using metaphors for whatever meaning they find convenient. The false limb is usually “a noun or adjective tacked on to some general purpose verb.” (262) The use of false limbs allows people to take a passive voice when an active voice should be used. Many people replace simple conjunctions and prepositions with these strings of meaningless false limbs to achieve a false sense of superiority. Ends of sentences are saved from lackluster conclusions with the use of many commonplace phrases that once held meaning but are now meaningless filler. An example of a false limb is “make contact with” instead of simply …show more content…
Because they have to” by Melanie Phillips supports Orwell’s claim by specifically discussing how politicians use corrupt language to avoid controversial topics that are often local and personal by using some of the tricks that Orwell identified years earlier. Phillips asserts that voters are not interested in politics because they cannot see a difference between the politicians because they use obscuring and untruthful language, discuss issues only at a high level, and often dwell on meaningless topics. For example, there is the “Mental Incapacity Bill” that was designed to have an ambiguous and meaningless name, but the bill actually contains language that allows family members to kill a sick grandmother “by starvation and dehydration.” The title of the bill uses pretentious, euphemistic, words in combination to create an air of impartiality to a gruesome
Professor Bhuiyan
RWS 100 Section 73
23 October 2014
Corruption the Language of Politicians Though written more than a half-century apart, “Politicians and the English Language” by George Orwell and “Why do politicians lie? Because they have to” by Melanie Phillips are essays that share similar viewpoints. Orwell claims politicians use the tools of corrupt language to get what they want and to manipulate the populace. Phillips concludes the same in her work. Text examples and discussions will be used to illustrate Orwell’s claim from his 1946 essay and also to relate the 2003 essay of Phillips. Orwell’s view of how language is used to manipulate people will first be examined using specific examples and writing passages from …show more content…
Many metaphors used by politicians are used without an actual knowledge of the metaphor, and people just put their own meaning on it. This just shows how corrupt politicians are using metaphors for whatever meaning they find convenient. The false limb is usually “a noun or adjective tacked on to some general purpose verb.” (262) The use of false limbs allows people to take a passive voice when an active voice should be used. Many people replace simple conjunctions and prepositions with these strings of meaningless false limbs to achieve a false sense of superiority. Ends of sentences are saved from lackluster conclusions with the use of many commonplace phrases that once held meaning but are now meaningless filler. An example of a false limb is “make contact with” instead of simply …show more content…
Because they have to” by Melanie Phillips supports Orwell’s claim by specifically discussing how politicians use corrupt language to avoid controversial topics that are often local and personal by using some of the tricks that Orwell identified years earlier. Phillips asserts that voters are not interested in politics because they cannot see a difference between the politicians because they use obscuring and untruthful language, discuss issues only at a high level, and often dwell on meaningless topics. For example, there is the “Mental Incapacity Bill” that was designed to have an ambiguous and meaningless name, but the bill actually contains language that allows family members to kill a sick grandmother “by starvation and dehydration.” The title of the bill uses pretentious, euphemistic, words in combination to create an air of impartiality to a gruesome